Self-Employment: Work Schedule or No Work Schedule?

Hello Guys,

I was wondering if any of you work off a work schedule while you work at your office or home. Right now I don't work off a schedule and I find myself going to bed at 2-3am in the morning and not waking up until 11 or 12 and I don't believe this is good for business, anyone else have this problem? Also if you could, please share the hours you work from if you have a schedule.

Thanks,
Scott

 

If you don't set a schedule and keep to it, you will never get anything done.

Its really the hardest part about working for yourself - discipline.

 

Franklin - Early to Bed, Early to Rise...

Follow a schedule, or you could effect your sanity, and those around you.

IMHO,

tom

 

I can definitely second that

 

Get married and have kids...then you won't have that problem anymore

 

Theres less hours in the day that way
I usually get up at 8am, go to sleep around midnight. Thats a 16 hour day which is more than enough to get things done, then have 7-8 hours sleep.

Schedule's or at least plans are a must when working for yourself.
I usually write down my goal's for the week every sunday night, so I know what I need to do.

 

In my blog is some free tools. One of the tools is a time manager..it shows you how much time you spend doing each thing. I Found that I spent more time on tasks like playing video games then at graphic design after I used it.. I took all the games off my computer and put them on a separate unit..that way when I say to myself..I will play age of empires on lunch I actually get up and go play for a pre arranged time. I would work on the computer all the time if I did not schedule time to do other things..I suggest scheduling for everyone in the freelance business.

 

Is 24x7 a schedule?

 

Yeah and the mortician is measuring you for the coffin. You must have some uncyber fun or how will you come up with new ideas?

 

I have a loose schedule but tend to work more on a goal-oriented process. I know what projects need to be done each day or week so I have to work on those priorities then I also make a list of goals/priorities that I would like to accomplish for the week.

This way I know what I need to focus on getting done but if life (or my mood) interferes I am not forced to pull an all-nighter to make up for it. I usually try to get ahead on the "must do" list so I have time to play with the items on the other list -- these are usually the things I'd prefer to spend time on so it is a bit of the carrot/stick approach.

 

I am super anal about time management, and I give that fact 90% of the credit for my success. My usual workday is from 6am to 5pm, M-F, and I take a good number of days off. Every hour is scheduled for a given project - including lunch with the wife and breakfast with the family. Stopping work daily at the crack of 5, and never working on weekends, is an important component of my happiness.

Like a lot of people, I used to be at my computer more or less 24x7 (stopped about 6 years ago). But in retrospect, I don't say that it was "work" because it wasn't: it was unmanaged farting around. A lot of it was work but it was inefficient because it was unstructured and disorganized. I also didn't used to work to written specifications and timetables, which I always do now. With good time management, I am far more productive than I ever was before, and I have massive spare time available for family and life (and beach volleyball). I recommend it highly.

 

I think you will work a lot better with a schedule - you'll be a lot more efficient, get a clearer understanding on what needs to get done and enjoy what your work more. It's also important to plan breaks into your schedule.

 

Schedule??? Blarg!!!! The best thing about being self-employed iz that you can do anything you want any time you want to!!!

Just try to get some work done...one of theze years!!! Until then, live here at DP!!!!

 

In a not unrelated matter, how do you divy up your time?

New Development
Maintenance
Promotion

My gut reaction is that you should evenly distribute your time but it doesn't usually work that way for me as I'd rather develop than maintain any day!

 

My schedule looks something like this:

9 hours looking at posts on DP
2 hours telling myself to stop spending so much time on DP
2 hours shipping out orders
1 hours complaining about how hot the warehouse is
1 hour talking to customers
1 hour wondering why I haven't sold my business yet (usually following that 1 hour of dealing with customers)
30 minutes watching Full Metal Alchemist
2 hours watching WSOP

 

That's all??!! No wounder you only have 2,000 posts!!! Real DP fans spend 24 hourz here!!!

 

Ah, this topic is a tough one for me. Having an upside down schedule, or not actually having it at all is actually one of my biggest problems, but the worst thing is that only discipline wouldn't help much here.

The reason is simply the internet connection which happens to be two times as expensive in day time (from 7AM to 7PM) then nights and since I'm not yet really financially stable I am forced to spare and therefore be online only when it's less expensive and that would be nights. The outcome of this is a totaly switched night for a day. I work till the early morning, and wake up around 12 to 2 PM..

I could organize myself to use the max of my evenings (like from 7 PM to midnight), but the connection is very crappy from 8 or 9 PM to midnight (dial up, overloaded, getting disconnected all the time so I can't work properly).

Not a nice situation really, but I hope I can soon start pulling it off anyway and maybe be able to change things (such as move to the city where I could get broadband ADSL access).

Thanks
Daniel

 

i want to know how much yall are pulling in and off what

 

I know it's horrible. I think that this is what the office is for.. you wouldn't stay too late as late in the office as you would in your own place.

I find myself working until 4 AM sometimes, waking up at 1 PM the next day feeling like %^$^- and it's not a healthy thing to do doesn't matter how much money you make!

 

Good question and I think it is different for everyone depending on your business and situation. For example, if what you're currently doing works then don't fight it -- I mean is there any 'real' reason you need to be at 'work' from 9 - 5 M/F unless you have other people to accomodate, including customers. But if you can manage your customer contact late in the afternoon etc and you enjoy working late into the night/early morning then don't beat yourself up for getting a few hours rest.

Some people work on projects where you don't have a lot of contact with customers so you can work when its best for you. I personally prefer being able to control my own time and deciding what needs to get done depending on the project.

Maybe you should work out what works best for you with respect to your own circumstances. But don't take it for granted, time is the most valuable thing you have because you can never get it back or make anymore -- when you've pissed it away then its gone forever.